Joseph Mayer Awarded Athlete of the Year For Men's Volleyball

Posted: May 12, 2016

By Chase Maser

Coming from another stellar season, Joseph Mayer, 21, has been chosen for the Athlete of the year award for Men's Volleyball. "I guess I'm honored," says Mayer. "I'm not really sure why I got picked, but I'll take it. There's a lot of great athletes here, and I'm proud to represent SMC."

While modesty is one of Mayer's strengths, his determination and focus on the court is what led him to being chosen for the award. "I think working hard is contagious. If I'm dogging it, then everyone else is going to do the same. Position-wise, we all have different things to do, so I'm never really trying to assist others with their spots, but it's more about attitude, leading by example."

Last year, the Men's team dominated the league, winning the State Championship. This year, the Corsairs achieved the Final Four stage of the State tournament before losing to Orange Coast College. Although the Corsairs weren't able to defend their title, Mayer was pleased with the achievements his team made despite gaining many new players at the start of the season and continuing with a new Head Coach, Jackson Meticchechia. "It was Jackson's first year," says Mayer. "He was the assistant coach last year, but his transition has been great. He pretty much modeled everything exactly like our coach before, so it was a really easy process for me. We did the same drills, had the same philosophy, same everything, so it was more about me trying to help him get that across to the new players."

Being captain of the team, Mayer took the responsibility upon himself to be a positive reinforcement for others. He decided to concentrate on being a playmaker rather than worrying about how the team was going to perform. "I'm the setter, that's all I do. When I'm on defense, I'm blocking. On offense, I'm setting up a hit. My job is to put up a hittable ball and set up the right guy at the right time."

Mayer also spends a great deal of time on his academics, keeping everything on both sides of his career as a student in check. "I'm taking 14 units and I have 3.0 GPA," Mayer explains. "it's nothing to brag about, but I definitely worked hard for it. It's important because an education is how I'm going to be able to make a living. I can't play volleyball forever."

In honor of his success, Mayer credits his award to the coaching staff at SMC. "I would really have to thank Coach Jackson. He spent three years with me here and he's been a coach, a mentor, a friend, and an overall support system. I would also have to thank my brother, John Mayer, who was the head coach before Jackson stepped in. My brother really helped me throughout the years, and he definitely influenced my playing the sport."

Mayer is graduating from SMC at the end of the spring semester, and he is currently in the process of deciding which 4-year institution he would like to transfer to. "I haven't committed to anywhere yet, but I plan on playing two more years of volleyball at another university."